Decapitated.

What is a body without a head & how does a human body function without a head?

 

Can you imagine a body stumbling around with no head? Without a brain telling the body to move, pump blood to the heart and throughout the body, blink, walk, run, play, read, write, and every other possible action from the internal to the external. These activities or any activities at all – would not be possible without the head. The body is nothing without the head. It is a lifeless, dormant, stagnant, unmovable, nonfunctioning, incapable thing.

 

Now let’s think of this example in regards to the church. Not church as in the building, pews or chairs, the sermons that are given, or the beautiful landscape outside and the decorative assets inside. 

But the CHURCH.  

 THE BODY OF CHRIST. 

What happens when the body of Christ loses its head? What happens when it detaches itself from the head – is it able to function? Is it able to move?

 

Short answer: No. The body becomes a lifeless, dormant, stagnant, unmovable, nonfunctioning, incapable thing.

 

Now hold on to your kitchen table chairs and your couch pillows because this blog is a little more convicting and controversial for some. But I believe this is part of what the Lord has been teaching me out here on the field on the race and I believe deep in my heart, it is something that I should share. 

Because well –

The body has been decapitated. 

The body of Christ has lost its head, the church itself is decapitated. 

 

Many would offer responses reflecting all of the good things the church is doing and how they are thriving. And yes, in some places they are doing things differently. But when we look deeply at the church, really the Western American church, we can sometimes see a lifeless, dormant, stagnant, unmovable, nonfunctioning church.

 

We have created “church” to be a thing we do every Sunday. A place where we gather for a couple of hours, ask the pastor to give us everything we need, sit in pews, sing a few worship songs (which don’t get me started about praise and worship), and then we take our three-step notes from the pastor and move on with our lives. 

 

Is this what we expect from the God Almighty, the King of Kings, the creator and ruler of all the universes, the life-giver, the Lord our God who created all things? We believe that what He wants for us as the body is to come to “church” once a week to sit for an hour and leave?

 

When did the church become this?

 

When Jesus came and walked this Earth, He showed people what it looked like to live and do life like Him, in obedience to the Father. 

Then after Jesus dies and is resurrected. 

Let me say that again, HE DIED AND WAS RESURRECTED FROM. THE. DEAD. 

He goes to join God and leaves us with the gift of the Holy Spirit and that is when we get the Acts church. (I’m sorry but if you haven’t read Acts, I encourage you to read it because it is not people coming to sit in a pew for an hour and leaving unchanged.)

 

It’s far from lifeless, unmovable, incapable, and it sure isn’t dead.

 

We worship our almighty God – He is the one who has given us complete freedom, redeems us, and gives us life eternal through the death of His son, showering us with His grace, and with unfailing unconditional love, He chose us. 

  

And what do we do in response? We come in on Sunday mornings, waiting around for a church to end, leaving right on time so we can get to our Sunday chicken meal, and get ourselves ready for the kickoff of our favorite football team (which don’t get me wrong, we love good food and football). But don’t you think eternal salvation and freedom is so much better?

 

It’s the church as a whole though, for me. The reason you want to leave is that there is nothing that makes you move, your spirit to rise, and it doesn’t challenge you or encourage you to move. It is just another Sunday.

 

But for the persecuted underground church, it is life or death. 

 

The largest underground church movement is currently happening, as you read this, in Iran. They put their lives on the front lines for people to know who Jesus is, to know this faith that we have, to know that there is more to this life. 

 

Something that we give up on Sunday mornings, they give up their lives for.

 

This isn’t meant to make you feel shameful or condemning the church, but the reality is, we’re sleeping. 

 

The Western American church is asleep. 

 

I recently watched “Sheep Among Wolves” (if you haven’t seen it I encourage you to watch it ASAP) but it’s about the underground church movement happening right now in Iran – it’s eye-opening and absolutely powerful! 

 

In that documentary, there is this line that says, “The American church is under satan’s lullaby.” 

 

WHOA. CONVICTING AND EYE-OPENING. WE ARE SLEEPING.

 

This life, this faith, this walk with the Lord is so much more than our Sunday service.

 

Not only that, the pastor isn’t the only one that can speak. The Holy Spirit is for everyone if we want it. The body of Christ looks like allowing the Holy Spirit to move in beautiful ways – to encourage one another in the body. We all have giftings and how do you expect to use yours or even know what your giftings are by sitting in a pew, expecting the pastor to give you everything you need for your spiritual walk, and journey of life. We all have access to this life.

 

I encourage you to ask the Lord what more looks like? If this is unsettling for you, take that to the Lord. Take it to the Lord when I say we are asleep as a church. 

 

pc: abbey spiker

Let’s ask ourselves these questions:

– Do we care about the actual reason we are living on this planet?

– Are we able to bring others in to know His beautiful glory, grace, mercy?

– Are we able to share the salvation of eternal life, bringing heaven on Earth, spreading His kingdom, bringing hope, peace, joy, love to people, and showing them what it looks like to follow the Lord?

– What does it look like to know who Jesus is, understand this unfailing-unconditional love of our creator?

 

So many people are burdened by this world, the holds and grasps on the enemy, the pain this world has in it, and by the evil and darkness that cover this world. They don’t know the absolute beautiful light of this world and the ruler of all creation, the Father, and this life of hope.

 

& that’s on us. 

 

We are supposed to share this with our neighbors, to our coworkers, to the people on the street, to the people in the remote villages, the large cities, the suburbs, our schools, our teams, everywhere. 

 

Because it is good news. Why would we not?

Why are people all over the world are willing to die for this?

Why won’t we risk a possible rejection of someone walking away from us, to share this news with people?

What is holding us back?  

We need to wake up!  

 

---

 

I was asked how I’ve seen God move in the last week out here on the race.

 

My answer included that I have seen God move within me and on the race through the active church and the active body – on the move and not afraid. The Holy Spirit is working in powerful ways and I have realized how this life has so much more than I can ever imagine. The active church of people using their gifts to equip, encourage, build up the body – build up each other. Gosh, how does that not get you excited? How those things are built on each other to encourage and bring heaven to Earth – to expand the kingdom, to bring that kingdom mindset, and to bring people in and share it with others. 

  

I have witnessed healings, prophecies, crazy faith, prayer, and discernment like the Acts church-the original church, and I have seen it continuously. I have seen courageous warriors for the kingdom of God expanding the Kingdom all over the world. 

 pc: abbey spiker

 

When you pray, do you believe that God can and will heal?

Do you believe you can have a personal relationship with the Lord?

 

The God of the universe wants to meet you in a uniquely personal way! All we need is to meet Him and He will guide and help us expand what this life can be. He’s there – He’s ready – He’s waiting for the western church to wake up! 

 

God is the head. He’s the source of everything. If we decapitate the head from the body – you’ll get no movement, it is lifeless and dead. 

 

The Holy Spirit is the fire, the gift, the blood that flows through us as a body. 

  

We need to wake up as a body. We need the Body to find its head again.